Raptors 101, Kings 97
Monday January 27, 2003TORONTO (AP) Jerome Williams was just thankful Vince Carter didn't hurt himself again.
Playing his first game since Dec. 8, Carter scored 22 points as Toronto beat the Sacramento Kings 101-907 on Sunday to snap a five-game losing streak.
Carter, who missed 23 games because of a strained knee, scored Toronto's last six points on his 26th birthday.
``He just had a great all-around game,'' Williams said. ``I'm just glad he was able to come in and not re-injure himself.''
Carter limped noticeably after former teammate Keon Clark landed on his legs in the second quarter, but Carter was suddenly OK seconds later.
After a two-handed dunk later in the second, Carter bent down to dust off his right knee.
``I was dusting the old stuff off and letting you know that my knee's OK,'' Carter said. ``Actually, it was to let the doctors know, so that they could breathe easy.''
Not everyone cheered Carter's return.
``I don't really care about Vince. We lost today. Who cares,'' said the Kings' Chris Webber, who had a triple-double with 24 points, 19 rebounds and 10 assists. ``There's a lot of good players in the NBA. All I'm concerned about is the Kings.''
Carter looked tentative in the opening minutes but scored 15 points in the second half. He finished 8-of-16 from the field in 23 minutes
``It was a very nice birthday present,'' Carter said of his successful return. ``It wasn't just a present for the team, it was a present for the fans. It was an opportunity to show that we can play with one of the best teams in the league, and show that when we get the majority of our guys back, we're a pretty good team ourselves.''
Carter was voted to start the All-Star game by the fans, despite playing in only 10 games before Sunday. Before getting hurt in practice on Dec. 10 two days after scoring 25 points in a loss to Portland Carter missed 10 other games with an injured left knee. He also missed 22 games at the end of last season with the injured left knee.
``We've been missing Vince for so long,'' Toronto's Alvin Williams said. ``He really did a great job coming in.''
Carter's fadeaway jumper gave the Raptors a 97-91 lead with 1:36 left, and his two free throws made it 99-94 with 17.7 seconds remaining.
Sacramento's Jim Jackson followed with a 3-pointer, but Carter made two free throws with 7.9 seconds left to give Toronto a four-point lead.
Mike Bibby scored 30 points to lead the Kings, who lost their second straight. Atlanta beat them 115-104 Friday night.
``It's alarming,'' said Peja Stojakovic, who went 2-for-10 from the field for 10 points. ``We haven't lost three in a row this year, so we have to go home and play a Kings game against Utah on Tuesday.''
Carter's 3-pointer, fadeaway jumper and short jumper gave Toronto a nine-point lead early in the third quarter. The Kings followed with a 12-4 run, including 10 straight points from Bibby.
Vlade Divac's jumper cut the lead to one, but Toronto began the fourth quarter with a 15-4 run, including Carter's 3-pointer with 6:58 left.
After Carter made his fadeaway jumper with 1:36 left, Webber made one of two free throws. Webber then missed two free throws with 56 seconds left, but Bibby made two with 18.2 seconds left to cut Toronto's lead to three.
Carter then made his two free throws before Jackson's 3-pointer. After Carter made two more to give Toronto a four-point lead, Webber missed a 3-pointer with 3 seconds left.
``We knew Carter coming back would bring them energy,'' Stojakovic said. ``The other guys looked confident because of him.''< ^Notes:@ Morris Peterson added 17 points and Jerome Williams had 14 rebounds and 12 points for the Raptors. ... Carter's mother posted a birthday message on the videoboard. It read: To my awesome son Vince #26 XOXO Mom. ... Miss Universe, Justine Pasek, and Miss Universe Canada, Leanne Cecile, sat courtside. ... Webber was 9-for-26 from the field.
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